As many people are beginning to realize but would rather not think about,
the United States and Russia are moving perilously close to nuclear war.
Russian President Putin has now openly pledged to defend Russian territory
with “all the forces and means at our disposal.” U.S. President Biden has
responded that Russia will suffer “catastrophic consequences” if it resorts to
the use of nuclear weapons.
As Putin has correctly pointed out, it is the U.S. government that has established
the precedent for the wartime use of nuclear weapons. That, of course, was the
U.S. atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World
War II.
Let’s review the justification that U.S. officials cite for targeting those two cities
with nuclear bombs.
U.S. officials, as well as many of their supporters in the mainstream press,
have long maintained that the U.S. government was justified in nuking those
two cities because, they say, it shortened the war. In the process, they say
that the bombings saved thousands of American men whose lives would have been
lost if it had become necessary to invade Japan.
That, however, is an invalid legal and moral justification for nuking Hiroshima
and Nagasaki. After all, it’s a war crime for soldiers to target civilians in
wartime. That’s precisely what U.S. officials did with their atomic bombing of
those two cities. There is no difference between, say, what Lt. William Calley
did in Vietnam when he killed innocent civilians and what U.S. officials did to
the people living in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Moreover, soldiers die in war. That’s the nature of war. To target women, children,
seniors, and other civilians as a way to save soldiers from dying in an invasion is
totally illegitimate.
It is important to note that to this day U.S. officials and their acolytes in the
mainstream press continue to defend their atomic bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki based on that particular justification — that it shortened the war and,
in the process, saved the lives of U.S. soldiers.
Given such, how can Biden threaten “catastrophic consequences” on Russia if
Russia employs nuclear weapons in its war with Ukraine? What if Russia says
that it is using nukes to shorten the war and thereby save the lives of Russian
soldiers? In other words, what if Russia uses the exact same justification for
using nuclear weapons in wartime that the U.S. used — and continues to use
— for its use of nuclear weapons in Japan? What does Biden say: that we can
do it but you can’t?
In fact, what if Russia, unlike the United States, limits its use of nuclear weapons
to enemy troops rather than on innocent civilians? What does Biden say then —
that the U.S. has the authority to nuke whoever it wants, including innocent
civilians, but that Russia has no legitimate authority to use nuclear weapons
against enemy troops?
・What does Biden say: that we can do it but you can’t?
の that we can do 〜 の that の前には、does Biden say が省略されているものと
考えられる。
Does Biden say that we can do it but you can’t?
>>13の What does Biden say then — that the U.S. has the authority to 〜
の 〜 that の部分も同様。
Who would have ever thought that the war crime that President Truman
committed in World War II would come back to haunt the United States some
75 years later? It might not do any good at this point, but among the best
things Biden could do at this point is to openly and publicly acknowledge
that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were, in fact, war
crimes and then issue a genuine and contrite apology.
・haunt
他動詞
1.〔〜を〕しばしば訪れる、〔〜に〕しばしば行く、頻繁に［しょっちゅう］出入りする
〔幽霊が〜に〕出没する
According to a legend, the town is haunted by a variety of humorous ghosts, a
story townspeople use to promote tourism.
古い言い伝えによると、その町には滑稽なお化けがたくさん出るそうだが、町の人々は
その話をネタに観光を振興している。
2.〔幽霊や不吉な思いなどが人に〕付きまとう
You better not crash. If I die, I'll haunt you.
ぶつけないでよ。もし私が死んだら（幽霊になって）あなたに取り付くからね。
◆【場面】安全運転を頼む。
3.〔心の中に悪い記憶や予感などが〕絶えず思い浮かぶ、立ち現れる
I am haunted by memories of my car accident. 私は自動車事故の記憶にさいなまれている。
4.〔悪い記憶などが人を〕悩ませる
The childhood trauma of being physically abused by the parents continue to haunt
her today.
子どもの頃に親から暴力を受けたことによるトラウマ［心の傷］は、現在も彼女を悩ませ
続けている。
自動詞
1.〔幽霊が〕出没する
2.〔人が場所を〕よく訪れる
come back to haunt
1.《〜 someone》〔嫌な記憶などが〕よみがえってきて（人）を悩ませる、思い出されて
［脳裏に浮かんで］（人）の頭から離れない
2.《〜 someone》後で（人）を痛い目に遭わせることになる、〔主語〕のしっぺ返しが（人）
にやって来る、〔主語によって〕（人）につけが回ってくる、〔主語によって〕（人）が墓穴
を掘ることになる
・not do any good
何の役にも立たない［ためにもならない］、全く使い物にならない
not do ~ any good 〜には何の効果もない
《not do someone any good》（人）にとって役に立たない［使い物にならない・全くために
ならない・何のメリットもない・効き目がない］
This won't do us any good. これじゃ埒が明かないよ。
Arguing with him isn't going to do you any good. 彼と言い争っても始まらないよ。
With its use of its old Cold War dinosaur NATO to provoke the Russian invasion
of Ukraine, the Pentagon bears responsibility for moving America and Russia
perilously close to nuclear war, even if it happens by miscalculation or accident.
The best thing President Biden could do at this point (in addition to apologizing
for the U.S. war crimes in Hiroshima and Nagasaki) would be to immediately
stop furnishing weaponry and other support to Ukraine, withdraw from NATO,
bring all U.S. troops stationed overseas home and discharge them into the
private sector, and abandon all foreign military bases, especially those in Eastern
Europe and Western Europe.
・discharge も多義語である。
[他動詞]
排出する、放出する、送り出す、発射する
Raw sewage was discharged into the river.
未処理の汚水が川へ排出された。
放電する
放免する、赦免する、解雇する、解放する
He will be discharged from the army next week.
彼は来週、陸軍を除隊になる。
These laws prohibit employers from discharging employees on the basis of national
origin or citizenship status.
これらの法律は、雇用主が国籍や市民権の有無を根拠に従業員を解雇することを禁じています。
退院させる
"When is he being discharged?" "I called the hospital and they told me he was being
discharged today.
「彼の退院はいつですか？」「病院に電話をしたら彼は今日退院するそうです」
〔荷を〕降ろす、陸揚げする
《法律》〔検察側が訴追を〕取り下げる
〈文〉〔弾丸・ミサイルなどを〕発射する
〈文〉〔責務を〕果たす
[自動詞]
排出する、にじみ出る
放電する
In other words, the U.S. government should leave the world alone. It has
done enough damage already, including moving America and the rest of the
world perilously close to a nuclear holocaust.
